Netzavim-Vayelech : instincts

The parsha says

יא כִּי הַמִּצְוָה הַזֹּאת, אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ הַיּוֹם--לֹא-נִפְלֵאת הִוא מִמְּךָ, וְלֹא רְחֹקָה הִוא.

11 For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not too hard for thee, neither is it far off

יד כִּי-קָרוֹב אֵלֶיךָ הַדָּבָר, מְאֹד: בְּפִיךָ וּבִלְבָבְךָ, לַעֲשֹׂתוֹ. {ס}

14 But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it. {S}

There is torah that requires no study, no teaching. You know that it is right when you say it and do it and feel it. There is an inate sense of the right. there is an obligation to satisfy it.

But the beginning of the parsha admits of ambivalence:

יח וְהָיָה בְּשָׁמְעוֹ אֶת-דִּבְרֵי הָאָלָה הַזֹּאת, וְהִתְבָּרֵךְ בִּלְבָבוֹ לֵאמֹר שָׁלוֹם יִהְיֶה-לִּי--כִּי בִּשְׁרִרוּת לִבִּי, אֵלֵךְ: לְמַעַן סְפוֹת הָרָוָה, אֶת-הַצְּמֵאָה.

18 and it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying: 'I shall have peace, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart--that the watered be swept away with the dry';

Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?

28 The secret things belong unto the LORD our God; but the things that are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.

When it comes to your instincts:

Trust, but verify

Ki Thavo: where am I?

The parsha begins with instructions for the denizen of the Promised Land. He must bring his taxes (“first fruits”) to the capital and make a declaration. The declaration recognizes that he has arrived in the Promised Land. That declaration is almost a warning of disappointment, The pilgrim says: “This is it!...?...!” The failure to appreciate his blessed condition is outlined in 53 verses of curses. (Dvarim 28:47).

Where are we now? All the curses have come to pass. There is (still) a Jewish State of Israel. The overt persecution of Jews is at a low point.

Better appreciate it. Failure has dire consequences.

prior years

Ki Thetze: hybrid systems

I looked back at years past (link). Every year I write about passion. It is the obvious thing to write about on this weeks parsha. The parsha begins with divine permission to “take” the beautiful war bride. It evokes her seductive dress and hair and demands that the veteran tolerate a year of plainness,a year of understanding her allegiance to her parents and relatives ( probably killed by the soldier), and then take her as a wife, not a slave. Actions have consequences, especially actions driven by passion.

There is also a strong theme: don’t poop where you eat. Take a shovel into the military camp. Don’t charge a fellow Jew interest. Differentiate the inside form the outside ( from the way outside...Amalek).

The answer is always yes...but.

Shoftim:u/dystopia

The parsha continues a vision of the future. When Israel enters the land...It sets an order to the society with judges and officers and priests, perhaps a king, criminals, wars and ecology.

The judges, shoftim, can simplify life (poshtim) or they can be simpletons (tipshim).
Now that there is land of Israel, the vision has meaning. I think that צֶדֶק צֶדֶק, תִּרְדֹּף--לְמַעַן תִּחְיֶה וְיָרַשְׁתָּ אֶת-הָאָרֶץ
has, for the most part, goverened that state.
May it continue so.